More Californians will be bitten by travel bug this Memorial Day weekend, AAA predicts

AAA is predicting that more than 4.8 million Californians plan to travel 50 miles or more over this year’s Memorial Day holiday weekend.

That would be a nearly 3.5 percent increase over last year and the second-highest all-time travel volume for the holiday. AAA said more than 5 million Golden State residents took a late-May holiday trip in 2005.

“The positive growth we’ve seen throughout the travel industry this year is moving into summer,” said John Moreno, AAA Northern California spokesman. “Strong consumer confidence has led to more spending, and more people will be spending money on travel this Memorial Day.”

AAA projects that more than 4 million Californians will drive to and from their destinations. Nearly 500,000 will be flying, up about 6 percent from 2016.